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Census Bureau to Test Citizenship Question for 2030 Census
Experts raise concerns over potential changes to the once-a-decade headcount.
Published on Feb. 5, 2026
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The U.S. Census Bureau plans to use a survey form with a citizenship question as part of its practice test for the 2030 census, raising questions about whether the Trump administration might try to make a significant change to the once-a-decade headcount that failed during the president's first term.
Why it matters
The inclusion of a citizenship question on the census has been a contentious issue, with the Supreme Court blocking the Trump administration's attempt to add it to the 2020 census. Experts are concerned that this test could signal a renewed effort to collect citizenship data and potentially exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment process.
The details
The field test is being conducted in Huntsville, Alabama, and Spartanburg, South Carolina, and is using questions from the American Community Survey (ACS) rather than questions from recent census forms. The ACS includes a question about citizenship status, which has never been used in a census field test before. The Census Bureau did not respond to inquiries about why the ACS questions were being used for the 2026 test.
- The field test is scheduled to take place in 2026.
- The 2020 census was the last decennial census conducted.
The players
U.S. Census Bureau
The federal agency responsible for conducting the decennial census and other surveys.
Donald Trump
The former president who unsuccessfully tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Joe Biden
The current president who rescinded Trump's orders related to the census and citizenship data.
Terri Ann Lowenthal
A former congressional staffer who consults on census issues and expressed concerns about the 2026 test.
Mark Mather
An associate vice president at the Population Reference Bureau, a nonpartisan research group.
What they’re saying
“This full pivot from a real field test is alarming and deserves immediate congressional attention, in my view.”
— Terri Ann Lowenthal, Former congressional staffer and census consultant
“The ACS form wouldn't provide a valid test of 2030 census operations. It's a completely different animal.”
— Mark Mather, Associate Vice President, Population Reference Bureau
What’s next
Republican lawmakers in Congress have recently introduced legislation that would exclude some non-citizens from the apportionment figures, and several GOP state attorneys have filed federal lawsuits seeking to add a citizenship question to the next census and exclude people in the U.S. illegally from the apportionment count.
The takeaway
The Census Bureau's decision to use a survey with a citizenship question in its 2030 census test raises concerns among experts about a potential renewed effort to collect citizenship data and exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment process, despite the Supreme Court's previous rejection of such a move.
